This December, we take our last (and possibly last ever?) step into Middle-earth as Peter Jackson's majestic Hobbit trilogy rolls to a close in The Battle of the Five Armies.
So with the film out on 12th December, we've gone back in time and brought you our six favourite trilogy cappers. Try not to get so nostalgic that you forget to post your own choices in the comments below...
Return of the Jedi (1983)
The finale to the first (and best) Star Wars trilogy finally finished off Darth Vader and saw the supposedly nail-tough Empire overthrown by an army of spear-chucking teddy bears. For decades we thought this was the full stop on the story of Luke, Han and Leia, until the news that they’d be returning for a fresh trilogy of adventures in 2015 (or 2016, depending on Harrison Ford’s broken leg…)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Critics decry Francis Ford Coppola’s third chapter in the mighty Godfather saga as the feeblest of the trilogy, but it’s a much underrated movie. Pacino is mesmeric as the now elderly Michael Corleone, desperately wanting out of the life that has lost him his family and his soul. The final gut-wrenching minutes pack a mean emotional punch and Andy Garcia makes a suitably sinister heir to the Corleone crown.
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Shot back-to-back with Back to the Future Part II, this second time-travel sequel sees Marty McFly travel back to the Old West to rescue Doc Brown, who’d been dramatically transported back to 1885 in the cliffhanging moments of Part II. Lighter on its feet than its more intense predecessor, Part III manages to make an unlikely romantic hero out of Christopher Lloyd’s wild-haired Emmett Brown, and wraps up Marty’s story in satisfying fashion.
The Return of the King (2003)
The highest ranking Lord of the Rings film on the Internet Movie Database’s list of the best 250 movies of all time, The Return of the King has director Peter Jackson throw in everything but the digital kitchen sink for this swansong trip into Middle-earth. It became the only film in the series to perform a clean sweep at the Oscars, scooping up 11 Academy Awards.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Pixar were never in a rush to follow up the critically adored Toy Story. They waited 11 years until they unveiled Toy Story 3, and the care shows. It was rare to watch this with an audience and not hear rows of adults weeping at the movie’s final minutes, to the befuddlement of their dry-eyed offspring.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
It’s weird to think now, after The Dark Knight Rises wrapped up Christopher Nolan’s Batman reboot so satisfyingly, that, after Heath Ledger’s death, it was never known whether there would be a third chapter. Now all three can be watched together, it’s an epically complete work – the superhero genre’s answer to The Godfather. It closed the book on Nolan’s Batman while keeping its ending beguilingly open for other directors to take on the Batman mantle.
